U.S. Index Futures Extend Gains on Further Talks With China

Meanwhile, gold stocks were among the few groups to buck the downtrend, resulting in a 2.7 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey's headline general business conditions index, aggregated by the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, fell 12.4 points to 10.9 in November, weaker than analysts' expectations of the 20.6. Afterhours trading in the largest exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent.

Privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,256,000, a decline of 3.6 percent year on year, according to the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline fell 4.2 percent to $1.35 a gallon and heating oil lost 4 percent to $1.75 a gallon. The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 87 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded eight new highs and 523 new lows.

The S&P 500 is down 53.79 points, or 2.1 per cent. "The hiatus on trade helps as well, but I'm a bit more skeptical about how long lasting that is", Ronald Temple, head of US equity at Lazard Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV.The Fed is likely to hike rates on Wednesday, even as President Donald Trump intensifies his attacks on the central bank.

India’s opposition party leader sentenced to life imprisonmentThe violence in 1984 erupted hours after Mrs Gandhi was shot dead at her home, and resulted in nearly 3,000 people being killed. On Monday, there were protests as the party swore in its new Madhya Pradesh state chief minister, Kamal Nath , into office.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.14-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.43-to-1 ratio favored decliners. For stock markets, battered recently by a series of concerns notably related to mounting trade tensions between the US and China, any such hint could help sentiment improve coming into the year's end. The S&P 500 hit a 14-month low point with a 2.1% loss.

Treasuries and the Japanese yen advanced amid a lingering mood of caution after Chinese President Xi Jinping offered no fresh commitments to stimulate the world's second-biggest economy in a keynote speech.

The two-day Fed meeting, starting today, has been expected to deliver another interest-rate increase, Reuters reported.

The Canadian dollar was trading at 74.36 cents USA, up from Tuesday's average value of 74.33 cents US.

There haven't been any big developments in U.S.

Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 9/32 in price to yield 2.8264 percent, from 2.857 percent late on December 17.

The dollar extended its falls against major currencies ahead of the Fed meeting.

Watch Comet 46P/Wirtanen as It Nears Earth
Stargazers eager to catch the comet as it passes across the sky should be able to see it from anywhere on Earth on December 16. On Sunday, Dec. 16, the comet named 46P/Wirtanen will make its 10 closest comet flybys of Earth in 70 years.

Jose Mourinho leaves Man United after 2½ years
Manuel Neuer is confident Bayern Munich can beat Liverpool in the Champions League, claiming Jurgen Klopp's men are "vulnerable". Sky Sports News understands that his assistant Michael Carrick will be appointed temporary manager to the end of the season.

Galaxy S10 camera details leaked
The phone will be available for pre-order soon after the event and available in retail stores as early as March 8th, 2019. The Galaxy S10 is also thought to be able to wirelessly charge other devices in a new feature called Powershare.

Kim Kardashian blasts Drake for ‘threatening’ Kanye West
He even said he had "been trying to meet with [Drake] for 6 months". "I told you I ain't tell Pusha about your son", he added. In June, Kanye placed the words "I hate being Bi-Polar, its awesome" on the cover art for his 2018 album Ye.

Bomb threats emailed to multiple locations across the country
Police on K Street near the White House told a Sputnik reporter they were "working on a bomb threat" late Thursday afternoon. The RCMP said it was aware of email threats made across the Canada , and urged anyone who received one to exercise caution.